Solid-state drives (SSDs) are the new hype in high-speed
storage solutions and with each new launch comes improvements over the last.
Currently, storage space is what many manufacturers are focusing on due to the
demand by consumers.

There are still a few details that certain manufacturers are bringing up to
speed. Many of the key players in the SSD game are still implementing a PATA
interface on their solid-state products which is holding these devices back
from performing at the highest levels. This is the reason for Samsung
Electronics' most recent launch announcement.

Samsung announced in a press release that its 1.8-inch and 2.5-inch 64GB SSD
with a SATA II interface is now in the mass production stage. The new SATA II
version of the drive was announced
in Q4 2007 and is said to remove the bottlenecks of the PATA interface used
in the previous version of the drive.

According to the director of Samsung Semiconductor's flash marketing
department, “While there will always be a market for HDDs, we see growing
demand for our new SSDs, especially now that they are available with the SATA
II interface.”

Due to the inclusion of the SATA II interface on the new refresh, transfer
rates on the new 64GB SATA II SSD will increase 60 percent from SATA I versions
of the same drive. Instead of the 65 MB/sec read and 45 MB/sec write speeds of
the previous PATA SSD drive, the SATA II flavor will produce a maximum write
speed of 120 MB/sec read and 100 MB/sec write speeds.

Additionally, because the drive is based on solid-state memory technology, the
64GB SATA II SSD will be able to withstand 1500Gs of shock within a 1/2 ms
span, roughly 3 times the amount of shock a traditional hard disk drive would
be able to withstand in 2 ms.

Pricing information on the 1.8-inch 64GB SSD is not officially available since
these drives are currently an OEM-only option, however, it seems that PC makers
such as Dell and Alienware are providing solid-state drives as a $1,000+ option
in certain high-end notebook systems.

Recently, Samsung also announced a 128GB
SSD using multi-level cell NAND flash which is scheduled for a mid-2008
launch with costs speculated to be around the $2,000 mark. With prices this
high, only the super-enthusiasts will opt for these products.

That said, drives such as BitMICROs 832GB SSD that is
scheduled for a H2 2008 launch will be completely out of reach for anyone but
the mildly wealthy under current price schedules.